Welding apparatus



April 2, 194.0. K. L. HANSEN ET AL Ill-DING APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 mum O N ZW e? M? April 2, 1940. K. L. HANSEN AL mm; APPARATUS l'ilod Oct. 16, 1936 7 Sheets-$heet 914ml 7 TL-9L ATTORNEY J endra 14M,

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K. L. HANSEN ET AL IELDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 16, 1936 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 MYIM ATTORNEYS Alli] 2, 1940. K HANSENIE- AL 2,195,962

IKLDIIIG Artmws r v rumba. 16.1936 7 Sheets-Sheet s K. L. HANS EiN Er AL 2,195,962

, April 2, 1940.

. IBLDIRG APPARATUS Filed on. 16., 1936 7 Sheets-Sheet s 7 Sheets- Sheet 7 INVENTORS K. L. HANSEN El AL WELDING APPARATUS Filud Oct. 16. .1936

wi l

April 2, 1940.

ATTORNEY 5 Patented Apr. 2, 1940 Klaus L. Hansen and Alphonse V. Huennekens, Milwaukee, Wis., assignors to Harnischfeger Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application October 1c, 1936, Serial No. 105,989

14 Claims.

. The invention relates to welding apparatus.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an automatic welding apparatus using ordinary coated welding rods in which the rods stored 6 in a hopper are successively removed therefrom 15 an automatic welding apparatus in-which a welding rod carrier moves between a storage receptacle for ordinary coated welding rods and the work and is provided with a welding rod gripper having a charging position in which it is adapted so to' grip one end of the foremost rod in said receptacle and thereafter move with said rod to a welding position.

A further object of the invention is to provide an automatic welding apparatus in which the 85 welding head and work move relative .to each other and in which the starting and stopping of the welding operation is coordinated with the starting and stopping of the travel of the work relative to the head. 80 A further obiect of the invention is to provide an automatic welding apparatus that may be readily adapted for quantity production welding of parts of various sizes and shapes. I The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings: J Fig. l is a side elevation view.oi apparatus embodying the invention, parts being broken 40 away and parts being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view takenon the.

line 2-2 of Fig. 3 with the electrode holder in a rod gripping position; 1

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus, parts 45 beingbroken away;

Fig. 4 is a detail transverse sectional view taken Fig. 9 is a detail vertical sectional view taken on the line 8-9 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 10 is a detailsectional view taken on the line l0lli of Fig. 8; Y

'Fig. 11 is-a detail view of the electrode and the 6 work;

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11 showing the electrode just before starting the weld;

Fig. 13 is a detail transverse sectional view taken on the line l3-'l3 of Fig. 1; g 10 Fig. -14is a partial bottom plan view of the carrier showing certain details thereof;

Fig. 15 is a circuit diagram of certain of the electrically controlled parts of the apparatus.

The apparatus includes a hopper or storage 15 -chamber H for storing a quantity of coated welding rods A, which hopper is mounted on the welding head comprising a frame F and an electrode carrier 3. The frame F maybe stationary or movable relative to the work W. In the present instance the frame F is shown as mounted .on the usual transverselymovable toolvcarrying slide C of an ordinary metal planer, and the work W is mounted on the reciprocatory bed D of said planer. Thus, when the frame F is stationary and the work W moves with the bed, the welding metal will be deposited on the work from the rod A mounted in the head B and automatically fed to-the work in a line along the same; and when the work W is stationary and the frame is 80 -moved, a similar effect is produced with the line of the weld running at right angles to that previously described. The frame F is clamped to the slide 0, so that it may be angularly adjusted in a plane parallel to that of the slide guides, and

the frame is also articulated through the hinge connection provided by the relatively vertically disposed pivot rod P and the parts P mounted to have limited turning movement thereon in a horizontal plane whereby the frame F may be shifted laterally relative to the work W durin the movement of the work. It is, therefore, apparent that through relative movement between the head and the work the welding metal may be deposited on the work and depending upon it the direction of movement of one or both of those parts will depend the conflgurationofvthe welding deposit.

The hopper H is formed as abox-iike structure so having a series of slotted partitions 2| so mounted therein, the slots 22 being of generally B-shaped formation and about the width of the electrode A being handled so as to guide a series of these electrodes ins column-from a charging position a to a position at the bottomof the box 5 .mounted intermediate its ends on a shaft 26 mounted on the hopper and normally urged by a spring 21 into electrode holding position but provided with an adjustable stop in the form of a screw 28 for engagement with the electrode holder so that said member will be swung out of the way by said holder into the position shown in Fig. 10 when said holder moves up to get a rod.

The carrier B is mounted to reciprocate vertically in the frame F and has a frame 29 provided with spaced side-plates 29' carrying spaced sets of front guide rollers 3|! running on vertically disposed rails 30' formed by portions of the frame F and 'spaced rear guide rollers 3| running rn a vertically disposed welding current supply bus bar 32 secured to the frame F, said frame being in the form of a square tube having the longitudinally extending slot 33 in its front face.

The carrier B has an electrode holder or gripper E here shown as a pair of spring closed pliers or pincers, each member 34 of which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a shaft 35 carried by a supporting member 36 here shown as an oscillatory support provided with a hollow pivot pin portion 31 welded thereto and journalled in the side plates 29 of the head as best shown in Fig. 5. The jaws of the gripper are normally urged to a closed position by a spring 38 passing through the hollow pivot 31 and engaging the handle portions of said pliers.

One side of the pivot has a segmental gear 39 formed thereon which meshes with a segmental gear 40 on a. shaft 4| journalled at one end in one of the plates 29' 'and at its other end in a boss of the part 40 journalled in the other of the plates 29'. A torsion spring 42 has one end secured to a collar 43 keyed to the shaft 4|, and the other end is anchored at 44 to the gear 46 which also has a notch 45 formed therein engageable with a spring pressed pawl or dog 46 secured'to a shaft 41 eccentrically mounted in bearing blocks 41' ,iournalled in the plates 29' of the carrier frame 29 (see Fig. 7). The shaft 41 has an exteriorly disposed operating lever 48 secured thereto and provided with a roller 49. The bearings 41 are adjustable relative to the plates 29' so as to change the angular position of the shaft 41 and the pawl 46 relative to the gear 40 by arms 50 secured to the bearing blocks 41 and each having an arcuate slot 5| therein through which a clamping bolt 52 passes to clamp the arms 59 and hence the bearing members 41 in adjusted position relative to the carrier frame plates 29'. The pawl 46 is normally pressed to an engaging position with the gear 40 by a spring 53 mounted in a support 54 on the carrier. The shaft 4| has an exteriorly disposed operating lever 55 secured thereto and provided with a roller 56. The levers 48 and 55 cooperate with a cam 51 on the main frame F as the carrier B nears the end of its downward travel as hereinafter described. The head B also has a Jaw opener cam or wedge 58 (see Figs. 1, 2, and 6) pivotally supported thereon at 59 and normally The carrier B also carries a releasable feed nut formed of a half nut section 6| shown in Figs. 2 and 5 engageable with a feed screw 62. A spacer or backing member 63 of semi-cylindrical curvature is disposed adjacent the feed screw at the opposite side from that of the nut-member 6| and acts as a support for a pressure spring 64 which yieldingly urges a conductor shoe 66 into sliding contact with the bus bar 32, said shoe being pivotally mounted at its upper end on a pin 66 mounted on thecarrier B. The section 6| of the nut is slidably mounted in spaced guides 61 formed on the carrier frame side plates 29' (see Figs. 4 and 5) and has a notch formed therein engaged by the curved end 69 of an actuator lever 10 slidably mounted on a square rod 1| journalled at its upper and lower ends in the frame F. The actuator moves with the carrier through a keyed connection therewith provided by the spaced flanges 12 engageable on opposite sides of one of the guides 61.

The feed screw 62 is constantly rotated through a reduction gearing driving connection indicated generally at 13with a feed motor 14. The feed screw 62 acts to feed the carrier B downwardly while the feed nut 6| is engaged therewith, and on the release of the feed nut the carrier B is returned to its upper position by the action of a hoisting mechanism; except during welding the rotation of the feed screw may be reversed to move the carrier B upwardly to provide the proper length of the welding arc.

The hoisting mechanism, as shown in Figs. 2 and 8, includes a cable 15 secured at one end to the head at 16 and wound around a helically grooved drum 11 loosely mounted on a shaft 16 iournalled at the upper end of the frame F and directly connected and driven by a high speed motor 19. This shaft has mounted on it enclosed within the housing a flyball governor mechanism including weights 86 such as is commonly usedfor regulating the throttle valve of internal combustion engines, and as the details of the governor form no part of the present invention, the same has not been shown in detail. The oscillatory shaft 8| having arms 6| operated by this governor is shown as provided with a lever arm 82 connected by a link 63 to a lever arm 84 secured to the upper end of the nut actuator shaft 1|. The leverage connections above described are normally biased to a nut engaging position by a spring 66. The shaft 16 has a cone clutch member 86 slidably keyed thereto and nor mally urged by a spring 81 into engagement with the mating clutch member 69 on the hoist drum 11.

The hopper H carries a bracket 89 having a stop screw 90 adjustably mounted thereon and adapted to engage the jaw opener cam 56 to release said cam as the electrode holder is moved 2: a rod gripping position such as shown in The carrier B has a stop member 9|, Fig. 5, secured thereto and slidably mounted relative to a limit stop rod 92 having limit stops 93 and 94 adjustably clamped thereto by screws or other suitable fastenings, Fig. 1. This stop rod 92 is guided at its lower end in the bottom portion of the frame F and operatively connected at its upper end to a bell crank lever 95 pivotally supported at 96 and having its other end connected to a limit switch actuating member 91. The limit switch (not shown in detail) is mounted inthohousingflandactstocontroltheatarting and stopping of the motor I8.

is used up by its deposit on the work. As the carrier B nears the end of its travel, the roller 58 on the lever 55 comes in contact with the cam 51, and said lever is turned clockwise as shown by the arrow in Fig. 1 against the tension of the torsion spring 42, it being noted that normally the pawl 48 shown in Fig. 2 acts to engage the notch of the gear member 48 so. as to hold said gear member stationary so that the spring 42 may be wound up and put under tension when said lever swings upwardly. Thereafter, and as the carrier B is completing its downward movement, the roller 48 on the arm 48 engages the cam 51 so as to swing said arm 48 upwardly, thus turning the shaft 41 and consequently swinging the pawl 46 upwardly out of engagement with the notch 45. Under these conditions the coil spring 42 exerts a sudden and powerful torsional pull on the gear 48 turning it in a clockwise direction and thereby turning the gear 88 and the pivot shaft 81 in the opposite direction and thus swinging the gripper member E with the grippers thereon upwardly until the tapered intermediately disposed blocks 88 of the grippers are engaged by the wedge-shaped cam 58 which thereby acts to movethe gripper members apart as the grippers reach their upward movement as shown in Fig. 6. Opening the jaws releases the stub end of the electrode A. Just about this time the carrier B has moved to its lowermost position in which the stop member 9| thereon engages the limit stop 88, thus pushing the rod 82 downwardly and through the lever 85 pulling the member 81 forwardly to actuate the limit switch which starts the operation of the pull up motor I8. During the first part of the rotation of the motor 18 the clutch members 81 and 88 are free to slip and do so slip while the motor through its shaft I8 is bringing the governor mechanism 88 up to such a speed as to cause the governor to operate the arm 82 and through said arm and the link 83 and arm 84 turn the shaft -1I in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 5 and 8 so that the actuator III will move the split nut member 5| out of engagement with the feed screw shaft 52.

Immediately on disengagement of the feed screw the clutch members 81 and 88- take hold,

and the drum I1 is rapidly rotated to wind up the cable 15 thereon and thus rapidly pull the carrier 13 from its lower position to an upper charging position adjacent the hopper H. As the carrier nears its upper position, its momentum is checked by the engagement of flange portion I88 thereon with a brake shoe IIII of suitable material slidably mounted on guide bolts I82 secured to the frame F and yieldingly urged into the path of the flange IIlIi by springs I88 (see Figs. 1 and 5). After this braking action on the carrier it finally comes to rest when its top portion I84 engages a stop block I85 of relatively dense rubber mounted on the frame F (see Figs. 1, 2, and 8).

During the time the carrier B is moving from its lower position to its upper charging position adjacent the hopper H, the plier members are held open by the wedge member 58; and as these members in this condition approach their upper limit of travel, the shorter member strikes the gate member 25 and swings it up into the position shown in Fig. 10 while the pointed end I06 of the other plier member moves up between the uncoated end of the foremost or lowermost welding rod A in the hopper and the uncoated end of the rod adjacent thereto thereby separating the lowermost rod from the rest of the stack of rods while holding back the other rods. Then as the carrier B completes its upward movement, the

stop screw 98 strikes the wedge member 58 and.

swings it downwardly as shown in Fig. 2 allowing the jaw members 34 to move to closed position under the action of the spring 38, and thus the uncoated end of the lowermost rod is automatically gripped between the jaws of the electrode holder E. It will be noted that as the holder E separates and grips the lowermost rod, it swings the uncoated end of said rod from a somewhat inclined position shown in Fig. 3 to the straight dotted line position shown therein, and then when the holder starts on its downward movement, the electrode moves down between the shelf 23 and the stop 24, as shown in Fig. 9, while the gate 25 under the action of its spring 21 swings back to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 10. Just as the upper charging,

movement of the carrier B is completed, the stop member 8I thereon engages the upper limit stop 84 of the rod 82 and moves said rod upwardly and hence the lever 85 so as to shift the actuator 81 and consequently the limit switch 88 to a switch opening position so as to stop further rotation of the motor I8. As soon as the motor 18 stops, the shaft 18 losesspeed and eventually stops and thereby stops further operation of the governor 88, so that the usual release springs of the governor and the spring 85 acting through the lever arms 82 and .84 and link 83 turn the split nut actuator shaft 1| to a nut engaging position so that the motor 14, then in operation in turning the feed screw 52, acts to move the carrier B downwardly with the foremost electrode gripped by the holder E as previously described.

As the carrier B starts downwardly as soon as the gripped electrode moves below the hopper its forward or pointed end a is free to swing downwardly, it being noted that the wedge member.

58 is still in its lower position as shown in Fig. 2, so that the electrode with the electrode holder swings down to a welding position shown in dotted in Fig. 2 and in full in Fig. 1, and thereafter the pointed end a is moved down into arcing engagement with the work W and then moved back a predetermined distance to maintain the desired welding arc.

The welding current is constantly supplied to the head through'a conductor I81 connected with the bus bar 32 which through the shoe 55 and the frame of the carrier 13 carries it to the electrode holder and thence to the upper uncoated end of the electrode gripped thereby. In order to insure a good flow of current directly to the jaws of the holder flex ble metal pigtails I08 connect each of the jaws with a contact block I88 secured to the frame portion 36 thereof, adapted to engage a plunger I I0 slidably mounted on the carrier frame proper and yieldingly urged gainst said surface by a spring I I I, said plunger being limited in its outward movement by a stop by a conductor I31 with In some types of welding the welding rod may assume a position substantially normal to the work while under other conditions of welding it may be desirable to tilt the electrode at an acute angle to the work as shown, for example, in Figs. 11 and 12 in which instance it will be noted that since the new electrode subtends a greater are than the used one that an overlapping eflect of the welding metal will be produced when using this adjustment of the holder. In order to permit adjustment to positions for either backward or forward inclination of the rod from normal, adjustable stops II5 are mounted on a block II6 straddling the plunger H0 and secured to the carrier frame and engageable with the bottom portion 01 the electrode holder member 36 to change its angle of tilt. As the changing of the welding position of the electrode holder changes the position of the gear 40, the position of the pawl 46 is shifted to accommodate this change by the proper adjustment of the shait 41 of said pawl through the angular adjustment of the bearing blocks 41'.

Referring to Fig. 15 wherein the electrical connections for furnishing current to the apparahis and controlling the same are shown, the numeral II1 designates a welding generator driven by a motor 1' and supplying welding current to the conductor I01 from which the current passes through the head and the electrode A to the work W and ground and from ground through a return conductor H8. The conductor I01 is shown as provided with a coil portion II 9 for a series pulsating relay I20, and the welding current is controlled by a power off relay I2I whose armature I22 forms a bridging contact between portions of the conductor I01.

An auxiliary constant potential generator I23 driven by a motor I23 has conductors I24 and I25 leading therefrom. Another auxiliary generator I26 has a field circuit I21 connected at one end to the conductor I24 either through a resistance I 23 or a shunt I29 around said resistance including the armature I30 of a relay I 3I whose coil I32 is connected across the welding circuit conductors I01 and I I 6, the other side of said field circuit I21 being connected by a conductor I33 with a conductor I34. The generator I26 also has a field circuit I35 connected by a conductor I36 with the welding circuit conductor I01 and the other welding circuit conductor H5 and including a fixed resistance I33 anda variable resistance I39;

The armature of the travel motor 14 is electrically connected to the armature of the generator I26 by the conductors I40 and I. The field I42 0! the motor 14 is connected at one side by the conductor I43 to the conductor I24 and at its other side to branch conductors I44 and I45. The coil I46 01' the power oi! relay I2I is in a circuit conductor I41 connected at one end with the conductor I24 and at its other end adapted to be connected to the conductor I34 through the bridging switch contact I45. The conductor I44 is adapted to be connected to the supply conductor I25 by the bridging switch contact I49 and conductor I50. Both contacts I43 and I49 are parts of the starter switch for the motor 14 and mean the same solenoid operated member III whose control coil I52 cooperates with a manually movable switch arm I55 connected by a conductor I55 with the conductor I 24. The other side of the coil I52 is connected to conductors I51 and Ill. The conducis connected by a. conductor I53 with a switch contact I54 which tor I51 includes a reverse switch relay coil I59 and leads to a reversing switch contact I60. The switch arm I55 has an oil position when on the button IN and is thereafter movable against the pressure of a spring I62 to its reversing position.

The reversing switch relay I63 has bridging contacts I 64 and I65 mounted on its armature. The contact I65 connects the conductor I 34 with a conductor I66 leading to the return conductor I25 when the relay is closed. The bridging contact I64 connects a conductor I61 with a conduc tor I68 leading to the line I25 and containing a fixed resistance I69. A protective relay I10, to prevent operation of the carrier unless the welding generator I I1 is operating, has its coil III connected by conductors I12 and I13 across the supply lines L1 and L: for the drive motor II1 for the welding generator, the supply to these lines being controlled by any suitable switch as a three-throw switch I 14. Whenever the welding generator H1 is running, the coil "I will, therefore, be energized to pull up the armature I15 which connects the conductor I 56 with a conductor I16 leading to the conductor I50.

The hoist or carrier return motor 19 is a shunt field motor whose lead I11 is connected through a switch contact I16 with a conductor I19 connected to the-conductor I50. The other lead I80 of the motor 19 connects with conductors I56 and I24 and with a conductor IBI connected by the bridging contact I82 of the limit switch 98 with a conductor I83 including the starter switch operating coil I84 for the motor 19, the conductor I03 being connected at its other end to the conductor I50. The motor I23 for the constant po- Y the welding operation the switches I14 and K are closed, so that the generators H1 and I23 are operating, and current from the supply line passing through the conductors I12 and I13 is energizing the coil Hi to close the bridging contact I15. Then under ordinary welding operations the operator swings the switch arm I55 into contactwith the contact I54, and current from the generator I23 then passes through the conductors I24 and I56, arm I55, contact I54, conductor I53 including starter coil I52, conductor I50, .contact I15, conductor I16, conductors I50 and I25, thereby energizing the starter switch coil I52 for the motor 14 and bringing the contacts I46 and I49 to a closed position. As soon as this occurs,

- current from the generator I23 flowing through 14 and across the bridge I49 to conductors I50 and I25 while current from the same conductor I24 passes through the power of! relay coil I46, conductor I41, contact I46, conductors I34, I45. and I44 and thence through the contact I49 and conductor I 50 to the return conductor I 25. As soon as the power oil relay I2I closes, the field I35 for the generator I26 is connected across the welding circuit.

With the starter switch connections established above current from the conductor I24 also passes through the resistance I23 to the field I21 and thence through conductors I33 and I34 to the conductor I45 and thence to the return line I25 through conductor I44, contact I49, and conductor I55. Thus the field I42 of the motor-1411mm, and bothfleldsottbesenerator I23 are energized and the generator I23 is supplying current to the armature or the motor 14 which acts to teed the carrier B downwardly. The field I21 is maintained at substantially constant excitation by the constant voltage generator I23 through the circuit connections above described. This excitation is substantially constant except at the moment when the electrode A contacts the work and short circuits the are at which time the relay I3I is operated to close the shunt circuit I23 and thus cut out the resistance I23. The field I35varies in strength with the voltage of the welding circuit being connected directly across the welding generator terminals. The voltage induced in the generator field I23 by the field I35 produces current in said generator which acts to turn the motor 14 in a direction to predominate so long as the resistance I23 is included in its circuit, but as soon as the relay I3I short circuits this resistance and the field I is cut out, the field I21 predominates, so that after the short circuit is made, the electrode A will be raised slightly from the work to form the arc,

and thereafter this are is. maintained through the constant action of the field I35 tending to feed the electrode downwardly and the counteracting efiect oi the field I21 and its resistance I23. The variable resistance I33 permits the current through the field I35 to be varied so as to bring it to such a value as to maintain the proper length of are between the electrode A and the work W during the welding operation, and it will be also noted that the strength of the field I35 is proportional to the voltage of the welding circuit. Thus after the initial circuit and the striking of the arc, the arc is maintained by the counteracting effect of the two fields I35 and I21, and as the rod is used up, the field I35 acts to move the carrier downwardly so as to maintain the desired length of arc.

It has been noted that when the electrode is used up, the limit switch 33 is moved to closed position-under the action of the carrier, thereby moving the bridging contact I32 into circuit closing position with the conductors I3I and I33 which under these conditions establishes a current flow from the generator I23 through conductor I24, conductors I33, I3I, contact I32, conductor I33, through the starter switch coils I34 tor the motor 13 to conductors I53 and I25. The closing of the starter switch brings contact I13 into contact with the conductors I11 and I13 so that the lead conductors I11 and I33 for the motor 13 are connected across the lines I24 and I53, and the motor 13 then operates to move the carrier B upwardly until said carrier on reaching the upper end of its movement disconnects the limit switch 33. The cycle of operations of the motors 14 and 13 are then repeated.

Under some conditions it may be necessary to move the carrier B upwardly under manual control, and for this purpose we have provided reversing switch means ior'the motor 14 acting in conjunction with the operation of the carrier return motor 13. This means includes the arm I55 which is movable'through the oil position I3I to contact with the contact I33 in a reverse position, it being held on said contact by the .carrier will not be interfered with by the cable,

the hoist cable operating drum in a direction to operator during the reversing operations, and when so held establishes a circuit connection of conductor I24 to conductor I53, arm I55, contact I33, conductor I51, including the reversing coil I53 for the reverse starter switch relay I33, l conductor I53, contact I15, conductors I13 and I53, to the return line I25, thus energizing starter switch coil I53 and moving the contacts I34 and I35 to closed position. When this occurs, the field I42 for the motor 14 will be con- 10 nected across the lines I24 and I25 since after passing through the coil I42 the current may then flow through conductors I45, I34, contact I35, conductor I33, to the conductor I25, and at the sametime the reverse fieldcoil I21 for the generator I23 is energized, the current passing from conductor I24 through resistance I 23, field I21, conductor I33, conductor I34, contact I35, and conductor I53 to the conductor I25 so that current is supplied to the armature for the motor 14, but the generator I23 acts to turn the motor 14 in a reverse direction, 1. e. to move the carrier B upwardly.

In order that this upward movement of the 25 the movement of the operating arm I55 into the reverse position and consequent energization of the starter reversing switch coil I53 acts as noted to move the contact I34 into connection with the conductors I31 and I33 which connects with 30 the conductor I25, and since the conductor I31 connects with a conductor I11 and the conductor I33 connects with the conductor I24, the motor 13 is connected across the lines and acts to turn pull the cable upwardly, but this occurs at a reduced speed due to the considerable resistance I33 which is then included in the motor circuit.

The motor 13 always runs in the same direction and is a high speed motor, for example, 1800 R. P. M. so that it returns the carrier B to its upper position in the construction here shown in a very short period of time.

The planer or other machine ior producing relative movement between the work and the electrode may be driven in any suitable manner either through a prime mover or an electrical motor and connected through such a source of power to a clutch, preferably of the automaticengaging type which is thrown out by the action of a clutch release solenoid I35 whose coil I33 is shunted across the lines I24 and I25 by its connection with conductors I31 and I33. With such a construction when the coil I33 is energized, the armature I33 thereof is moved by the coil I33 to release the clutch. For controlling the solenoid I35 the branch conductors I33 and I31 have three switches arranged to close and open the circuit between them. One switch I33 is a manually operated push button switch which is closed so long as it is held down and releases automatically as soon as the operator takes his hand therefrom. The second switch I3I is one that is either closed or opened by manual operation by the operator, and the third switch I32 is a bridging contact connected with the armature of the pulsating series relay I23 and normally held in closed position by the spring I33.

With this construction when there is no load I in the welding circuit, the armature I32 is in closed position and current from the generator I23 may pass from the conductors I24 to the conductor I33, the switch I32, and conductor I31" including the coil I33 to the other lead I25 of the generator circuit, thus energizing the coil and moving the solenoid member I to cause a release of the clutch connecting the prime mover with the planer so that the planer is stopped when the welding generator is not furnishing welding current. As soon as any load is imposed on the welding generator, as by a short circuit of the rod A with the work on the formation of the are between the rod A and the work, the relay I20 opens thereby pulling the contact I92 out of engagement with the conductors I88 and i8! and thus de-energizing the coil lill so as to cut out the clutch release and allow the prime mover to drive the planer. If during the welding operations it is necessary to stop the planer, the operator may do this momentarily by moving the push button ISO to closed position to establish the shunt circuit through the coil I86 for a brief period, or if for longer periods he may move the switch member i9! to closed position for the same purpose. Thus the control for the starting and stopping of the planer or the work travel means is manual by the direct control of the operator and automatic through the control of the welding circuit, and it is to be noted that the work travel means is operated only during the actual welding operation and that during the time the carrier'B is moving down into welding position or back to receive a new rod, the travel means is not in operation.

We, desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to any particular form or arrangement of parts except in so far as such limitations are included in the claims.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. In a welding apparatus, the combination of a support for a plurality of welding rods, a welding rod carrier reciprocable between said support and the work, a welding rod gripper mounted on said carrier and having a charging position and a welding position, said gripper when in a charging position adapted to grip one end of the foremost of said rods and thereafter move to a welding position, and means for operating said carrier.

2. In a welding apparatus, the combination of a receptacle for holding rods in a substantially horizontal position above the work, a welding rod carrier vertically reciprocable between the receptacle and the work, a welding rod gripper mounted on said carrier and movable to a rod receiving position to grip one. end of the foremost rod in said receptacle and thereafter tilt to a welding position, and means for operating said carrier.

3. In a welding apparatus, the combination of a reciprocatory carrier adapted to hold a welding rod, a rotary feed shaft, means for turning said feed shaft in one direction to bring the welding rod carried by said carrier into welding association with the work, a releasable drive con- 7 nection between said carrier and feed shaft, means for releasing said drive connection when the rod is used up, and meansoperable on a release of said drive connection to move said carrier more quickly in the other direction.

4. In a welding apparatus, the combination of a reciprocatory carrier adapted to hold a welding rod, a rotary feed screw, means for turning said feed 'screw in one direction to bring the welding rod carried by said carrier into welding association with the work, a releasable nut member between said carrier and feed screw, means for releasing said nut member when the rod is used up, and means operable on a release of said nut to move said carrier more quickly in the other direction.

5. In a welding apparatus, the combination of a hopper, a reciprocatory carrier adapted to hold a welding rod, a rotary feed screw, means for turning said screw in one diretcion to bring the welding rod carried by said carrier into welding association with the work and in the opposite direction to form. the welding arc, a releasable nut member between said carrier and feed screw means for releasing said nut member when the rod is used up, and a motor operated cable means to move said carrier when said nut member is released.

6. In a welding apparatus, the combination of a reciprocatory welding rod'support, a hopper for welding rods, 8. tiltable releasable welding rod gripper on said support movable to a rod receiving position adjacent said hopper, said gripper thereafter tilting to bring the rod into a position for welding, means for moving the rod charged support to bring the rod thereon into and maintain it in welding association with the work, means for releasing the spent rod from said grip per and holding it in a release position until the support returns to a rod receiving position, and means for returning said support to a rod receiving position.

7. In a welding apparatus, the combination of a reciprocatory welding rod support, a hopper for welding rods, a tiltable releasable welding rod gripper on said support movable to a rod receiving position adjacent said hopper, said gripper engaging one end of the rod and thereafter tilting to bring the rod into a position for welding as said support moves to a welding position, means for moving the rod charged support to bring the rod thereon into and maintain it in welding association with the work, means controlled by the movement of said support for tilting the gripper to a rod receiving position when the welding rod is spent, means for releasing said gripper from the spent rod as the gripper tilts to rod receiving position and for holding said gripper in a rod receiving condition until said support reaches a rod receiving position, and means for returning said support to a rod receiving position.

8. In a welding apparatus, the combination of a reciprocatory carrier, an electrode holder mounted on said carrier and tiltablereiative thereto to dispose the electrode carried thereby at an acute angle to the work, and means for operating said carrier.

9. In a welding apparatus, the combination of a reciprocatory carrier, an electrode holder mounted on saidv carrier and tiltable to different angular positions relative thereto, means for adjusting the angle of tilt of said holder, and means for operating said carrier.

10. In a welding apparatus, the combination of a reciprocatory welding head adapted to hold a welding rod, means for suppying welding current to said rod, electrically controlled and operated means for moving said head to bring and maintain the welding rod carried by said head in welding association with thev work, and switch means for controlling said last named means and for controlling the welding current supply means said switch means including a manually controlled member for effecting a reversal of said head moving means.

11. In a welding apparatus, the combination of a welding head comprising a frame, a carrier mounted to reciprocate along said frame, and a tiltable releasable welding rod gripper mounted on said carrier to support a welding rod in spaced relation-to said lrame and carrier, means for reciprocating said carrier relative to said frame. and means controlled by the movement of said carrier relative to the frameto release said gripper from a welding rod and tilt the same from a welding position to a rod-receiving position.

12. In a welding apparatus. the combination of a reciprocatory carrier, an electrode holder pivotally mounted on said carrier to swing relative thereto from a rod-receiving position to a position for holding the rod in a welding position, and adiustable abutments mounted on said carrier engageable with said holder to adjust the angle of tilt oi! said holder relative to said carrier and thereby adjust the angle the welding rod on said holder makes with the work.

13. In a welding apparatus, the combination of a reciprocatory welding rod carrier; a support for welding rods, a tiltable releasable welding rod gripper on said support movable to a rod-receiving position adjacent said support, said gripper having a pair of pivoted jaws engaging said rod and thereafter tilting to bring the rod into a position for welding as said carrier moves to a welding position, spring operated means for swinging said gripper from a welding position to a rod-receiving position, means operable on the movement of said carrier for controlling said spring-operated means, wedge means engaging said jaws to release the-used rod, and stop means engageable with saidwedge means as the gripper moves to rod-receiving position to permit said jaws to engage a rod.

14. In a welding apparatus, the combination of a hopper, a reclprocatory carrier adapted to hold a welding rod, a rotary feed screw, means for turning said screw in one direction to bring the welding rod carried by said carrier into welding association with the work and in the opposite direction to form the welding arc, a releasable nut member between-said carrier and feed screw, speed responsive operated means iorreleasing said nut member when the rod is used up, and a motor operated cable means to move said carrier at a faster rate than said feed screw when said nut member is released. I

' KLAUS L. HANSEN.

ALPHONSE V. HUENNEKENS. 

